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While I was in Santo Domingo my beverage choices varied, beer, rum, Dansani flavored water (toronja bliss was my favorite) and Diet coke also known as Coca Cola Light. Coca Cola light didn't really taste the same as diet coke, a little flat tasting in fact. But "light" sounds somehow better than diet.

Pollos Victorino is a chain of fast food chicken places, I spotted them in numerous locations on my travels in Santo Domingo. During the week there never seemed to be anyone buying chicken there, but on weekends they were packed. "Sabor a ti" loosely translates into "taste like you". Now I have no doubt that I taste damn fabulous but am not sure I want my chicken to taste like me because I like my chicken to taste ...well, like chicken. Also how do I know that said chicken will in fact taste like me and not you? Not that you taste terrible but do you taste like chicken? This sign sort of reminded me of "Soylent Green" hence why I never ate there.

A little vacation

As I have told you a few times I have a gazillion cousins. Some are not so nice, some are nice and some are down right scary. One of the nice ones, is my cousin Olga. Back when we lived in Brooklyn, Olga use to babysit me during summer school vacations. She was a great babysitter. She recently reminded me that as a child I refused to drink any beverage that didn't have crushed ice, she of course always crushed my ice, she spoiled me. Until about 8 months ago Olga lived in Texas now she lives here in Puerto Rico. She moved to help care for her mom, my tia Francis. Olga happens to own a timeshare in Santo Domingo, and since we both needed a little break from our caregiver/caretaker jobs, the Dominican Republic seemed like a nice escape ... and it was.

Let me tell you my little huckleberries, I slept ( a whole lot) I watched TV, I ate and I drank and sunbathed and went sightseeing. It was a heavenly vacation. The weather was great the entire week we were there. Santo Domingo is filled with many historic sights, colonial times have been preserved and the architecture is impressive. The people were wonderfully friendly, the food phenomenal and the beer, well the beer was damn tasty. (the rum wasn't too shabby either but I have to admit it isn't as good as PR rum) Thank you Cuz for the love, the stories shared, and our vacation to Santo Domingo, it was great fun. And I won't tell anyone how you were a little grumpy on the flight home because you couldn't nap due to the fact that R.K.M. & Ken-Y were sitting right behind us on the plane and I had to show you their picture on my IPOD and tell you who they were because I am so hip and have a 17 year old brother who keeps me up on these things. I love that among the gazillion cousins you are one of the good ones.

Columbus or maybe it was his son, slept here.

Colonial Plaza Church

inside the church


Plaza outside the church

Coastline near our condo

Street musicians enjoyed while having a beer at a sidewalk cafe

Olga at the National Aquarium

These lizards were everywhere, and they were big.

Stairways like this one can found all over older parts of the city

Our Transportation to and from Saona Island

Saona Island

Same island, another view

I have more pictures to share at another time, blogger is taking too long to upload and I have things to do. Enjoy the weekend, be back soon.

The great outdoors, part 2

Some more vacation pictures: above picture from Zion in Utah, you should really go there.

Zion Narrows, Jenny and I hiked the Narrows for 7 hours, beautiful hike.

The narrows: it's mostly hiking through rock and water.

Jenny

Jenny working her way across the water, to that mud area in the background.

Bryce Canyon, you really should go there too.

Dead tree, crow, Grand Canyon.

As you were, am done for now.

The great outdoors

I took a little vacation, I was gone 12 days. 12 Days where I did nothing but focus on me (and a little bit on my travel companion.) I spent a lot of time listening to my ipod, sleeping long hours, a deep restful sleep, I read, had a manicure and pedicure and I hiked. I went to Arizona and Utah and Nevada. Now I know it was a bit crazy to leave this tropical island paradise for that dry desert heat that numbered in the triple digits every single day I was there but I am crazy that way. Anyone who knows me knows that my greatest joy is being in nature, surrounded by sunlight and walking/hiking.

I came back feeling a little more "together" and a little more focused and a lot more content. I won't go into detail about the couple times I cried or held back tears . The times I longed for things the way they use to be, or even the overwhelming sadness. I will tell you that this trip was a bit cathartic, I purged some negativity, accepted a few things, renewed my spirit and even found time to basked in the familiar.

I hiked the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and Zion, then I topped it off with a side trip to Vegas. I went with my cousin Jenny (she's one of my gazillion cousins). She was the perfect travel partner, smart, witty and yet fully aware of my need to "mend" from the last year, she left me plenty of alone time.

Grand Canyon, absolute splendor.

Me at Bryce, contemplating the end of a 4 hour hike.

Zion Narrows

Grand canyon, Free from worry, I should have taken a leap and clicked my heels together but it was a long way down.

Bryce Canyon

Grand Canyon, dead tree

Working on pushing that damn boulder I've been carrying around away, far away.

Jenny and I, taken by some strange guy that followed us around for a bit.

Jenny after a long day of hiking.

Another dead tree, but it was pretty.

I have many more pictures to share but blogger is giving me a headache and taking way too long to upload pictures so this is the end ... for now.